Expert: Loren Stevens - 11/21/2008

Question
QUESTION: Just for some background info on this question, I'm writing a story about an FBI agent, who started out her career as a police officer ...

First question: how exactly does the police agency keep tabs on their UC officers?  How would this vary between "shallow" vs. deep UC assignments?

I'm not exactly sure how to word this one:
I know this varies *greatly* based on a large number of factors, but can you give me any idea the length of time UC for various "lengths" ... umm ...
Ok, someone spends *x* amount of time undercover.  What approximately is *x* that would make you say "that's really short," "that's short," "meh," "that's kinda long," "wow, that's forever!" etc.  :D  

What are certain problems that come with being UC for an extended period of time?

Also ... anything you can think of (really, anything) that's different being a police officer in the late 70's, early 80's, versus now.  Obviously, no cell phones, no computers right there in the car ... but what else is there?  I'm only 18, too, I've lived my whole life with technology that was little known or didn't exist before I was born ... :D ...

Well, that's really all I can come up with for now. ;)
It's 7:30 am, and I just got off of work, so I'll apologize if I don't make sense.  I'm trying to!

ANSWER: Hello Caren,
FBI Agents who were formerly street cops are often referred to as: "Mustangs", which is the same as in the military, where an officer was formerly an enlisted person.
By the way, these agents almost always do well working multi-agency projects, as they know and understand the street cop culture. Other agents with only a law degree or an accounting degree, tend to get lost in their own loftiness.
(My opinion...of course)
An agency ( that has their act together) has a variety of ways that are useful in ascertaining the continued calibration of a UC.
The agency is broken down into subdivisions. Each subdivision embraces a body of relevant directives, all to support the agency mission. Most are "Don't" oriented.
And, all agencies fully embrace the "CYA" philosophy, and the feds also tend to factor in "plausible deniability".
"CYA" usually refers to COVER YOUR ASS, however, in covert ops (sometimes covert OOPS), "CYA" refers to: Can You Articulate.....reporting on all issues and activity that is germane, directly or indirectly is required. And, if the situation turns into toro feces, "CYA" then refers to Call Your Attorney.
Words to live by.
Agencies closely supervise covert operations, as they can get real dicey in a hurry.
You can only prepare for your side of the equation. The adversary is an ongoing variable.
Ergo, close supervision.
Scheduled and unscheduled inspections is another measure that is employed, as are operations audits.
Personnel evaluations are BIG on a supervisor's ticket. As officers/agents can have their lives and careers go down the drain, if they don't stay focused and disciplined.
"Shallow" or low level UC, takes little preparation, and tend to be short lived. This is like a street cop putting on a sport shirt, hanging a camera around his neck, and "my name is...." stickem on his shirt in the downtown or tourist areas.
He will be fly-paper to the prostitutes and pimps. He only needs a superficial "cover story", CIF (cash in fist),story on his lips, and have ...er....ah...ahem, that LONELY look.
Or simple surveillances is essentially low level UC.
Along with the primary UC, the cover team has to be equally vigilant in their supporting roles.
In police work, it's all about the 7-P's (proper-prior-planning-prevents-piss-poor-performance)
Short term duration usually marks a low level covert initiative.
Deep cover takes some doing. It is usually costly in personnel hours, more risks, detailed and structured cover story....that's verifiable, and tends to be long in duration, as it takes time to get into the game at a level that matters.
The only thing in LE more expensive in terms of officer/agent hours than UC ops, is what used to be called a "T-3"..(aka..wire intercept)
. Bosses and supervisors who know the score can see tons on hours and attendant costs, on what could very well end up as a "miss".
In terms of UC sensitivities, several years ago, I wrote an article for Police Chief Magazine, on undercover selection and other issues. You might try to dig that up. If you can't find it, let me know.
Also, I'd recommend you read something by an adversarial point of view, in covert operations. The book is called "Under Cover" by Gary T. Marx. I don't agree with Mr. Marx on a great deal of his perspectives, but it's good to study how the other side will come at you.
In covert ops, the land mines are: "outrageous government conduct", and "Entrapment".
And, if your hero is going to DISPATCH anybody, you might want to review the 4th amendment, as well as TN v. Garner, and the majority utterances by Scalia.
Another issue for your protagonist, is "targeting"..How did the government decide to throw it's substantial wherewithal at the "target>?
"Lengths" per case varies. It just depends on too many variables....spin-off cases, life threatening issues, whether there is a high risk of the UC cover being compromised et al.
Low level uc is easy...it lasts the shift. Usually prostitutes, street level "buy-bust" dope deals, maybe a fence or something that can be addressed without too much more ante.
"Deep" cover gets a supervisory and staff review very often, and for many reasons. If it becomes too dangerous, or ceases to be productive to warrant the cost, or if it is re-active  vs. pro-active, it is just viewed differently.

I'll have to respond to the rest of your questions later, gotta go.
What I've offered should be plenty for you to play with for a while.
Hope it's helpful,
loren



Caren,
Ok, lets do this...as a suggestion, tell me what crime(s) are being investigated in your undercover story, and I'll be better able to tell you what the issues will be. Also, a little bit about your protagonist. As an idea, along with the criminal as a protagonist, you might want to consider a duel irritant, where the agency bosses are chewing on the uc for results, along with the bandit posing various challenges.
You might want to describe the UC operative too, as there can be a host of problems to overcome there too.
Gender and/or race may be an issue to address. There are more than one ethnic groups, that will not do business with some other races, and will not do "business" with a female. These outfits do not recognize any "Affirmative Action Plans", just their own internal rules, norms, and mores.
These are all real life issues in covert ops.
As you develop your characters, you might want to spend some time on their personal lives, habits, proclivities, and even their theology.
Just some ideas.
Anyhow, let me know more, and I'll be able to help you better, with more precise, and relevant information.
Regards,
loren


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Wow!  Thank you for the quick response! :D

Ok, basically, there is this uber-secretive terrorist group that they are investigating.  Essentially, many members of this group have 2 totally separate lives - their "public" life that everyone knows about, and their life as a terrorist.  This of course makes it kinda hard to get very far investigating them ...

Ummmmmmm ...

She's Afghani, but yes, she's female ... so she's got that against her, but since Arabic(/related language)-speaking agents are such a rarity, they're kinda wanting to get her involved as much as possible ...

I'm not entirely sure if this is what I asked/what you answered before ... :D ... I didn't get much sleep today.  So:
The purpose of her being UC is to get information and people, to prevent an attack by this group, to shut them down, etc.  While she's out there UC for a long period of time, how are they receiving the info she's discovering?

Then ... she is essentially kidnapped by the main antagonist of the story, while UC ... and the fbi has no idea where (or if) she is.  So, what do they do??

By the way, I couldn't find your article.  :(

That's all I can really think of now.

ANSWER: Hello Caren,
I don't remember much of this action in the 70's and 80's. But, it's your story...
Sometimes, it's easier to deal with a interagency initiative, as in the fed world, jurisdictional lines are respected.
If there are foreign nationals involved, you might consider factoring in INS, or even Customs, if there is contraband in the mix.

If one of her primary assignments is to gain intelligence, she'll have means and methods set up for her in advance. Maybe in an undercover residence, where her neighbor is her cover officers or supervisor.
In the 70's and 80's, everybody who was....busy, had a beeper, or pager. In the early days, these were not digital, or even voice. They merely sent a signal, for you to then call a number that was pre determined, or the office.
In the streets, you always made note of pay-phones, as you used them alot. Now days, try to find a pay phone is challenging.

For intelligence, there would be a stationary surveillance set up on the primary player's res, where photography or video would be used. Back then, some agencies used 1/2 inch video tape.
There would also be a "trap" and a "pen" (penrigister) on the phone. A trap, records all the numbers calling TO the suspect residence, date time and duration of the call. A "pen", records all the numbers called FROM the suspect residence, date, time and duration.
Then, they would put a court ordered "mail cover" on the suspect residence. Which means, the Postal Investigators record all correspondence and parcels that go to this residence, along with return address etc.
All this builds to getting enough "probable cause" to petition the court with a wire tap application, for a court authorized phone tap. These are hard to do. They have to be monitored around the clock, and you also should have a response team in proximity near the suspect residence.
If agents over heard of a serious offense that was about to happen, they'd want a team in the field available and ready to deal with the issues.
In those days, FBI and other fed agencies could not make a vehicle stop, with red lights and siren. They'd call the local officers to do that...sometimes, just to identify who is in the car.

On the suspect car, you want to know who is the registered owner, and who is the legal owner.
On the residence, who pays the utilities, finances the res etc.

More often than not, when working a criminal case, if you follow the money, or the paper trail, you'll end up with all the players.
On an ideology case, with criminal overtones, it's more about behavior. Plus, these outfits still need money to operate. The type of charges, include "continuing Criminal Enterprise" and probably RICO, although you may want to determine when RICO started in the 80"s.

The UC is not just going to be flung into this rats nest. She'll have plenty of cover. But, being a female creates other problems for her. The cultural norms of Afghan society are such, that females are subservient.
It puts her in a spot, on how far she can proceed with the suspects.

In those days, many agencies had trouble with body-wires.
Too many of them, with modest wherewithal tried to get by on the cheap, and used a 1/4 watt transmitter for their body-bug.
This is a weak signal, and the receiver needs to be almost on top of the transmitter. On a moving surveillance, it needs to be bumper to bumper to receive. Plus, weather conditions can affect the reception. Some agencies went to a 5 watt...too strong, and came across on regular fm radio, where anybody could listen to the chat.
A 2.5 watt was the way to go.
If the cover team lost contact with their Agent...that is panic city!!!! On many levels, that's not a good thing. First of all, a UC does not ordinarily "trip" (go anywhere) with the suspects. It's a safety and practical issue.
As a supervisor, you just can't anticipate every contingency, but can mostly have a plan for safety. The agent also has an obligation for their own safety, and escape planning for survival.

In a previous question, you asked about some personnel concerns.
One, is the UC spends so much time with the counter culture, there is a fear of assimilation, and becoming sympathetic with the badguys.
Kind of a spin-off or variation of the "Stockholm Syndrome" of sorts.
Distance from law enforcement identity, culture, associations and other reinforcements is always a concern, and there are in place measures that address these concerns.

Hope this helps.
loren


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hmmm ... well, another late night at work, so my clarity is not guaranteed ;D

Really, all I can think of right now is to say that I realized I didn't make this clear earlier, (and I had my years off a bit), but she's a police ofc 82-86ish ... the story I was talking about isn't until 2005 :D.

Oh, and, other than the TV channel, what does HBO stand for for you?  And do people really call the cops for a basketball in the street???  Wow ...
Tonight one of our all-time favorite customers, and the absolute nicest of all the cops who come through drive-thru, brought this up today.  :D ... that's why I'm asking.

When I'm more awake I'll try to think of something better.  You've really been a great help so far!  You'll go right up there in the acknowledgments with my friend who's an FBI agent, and his wife who's had tons of different jobs as a nurse.

Answer
Hello Caren,
Well, you are right about one thing....I'm not real sure what it is you are asking???
"HBO" stands for "Home Box Office"

People call the police for many things. Whether their perceived problem is real or imagined, is a difference with little distinction, as it is real to them.
Some issues appear to be picayune, but if you have ever paged through a city ordinance book, you'll discover an abundance of frivilous concerns.
On your story, much depends on her assignment and size of agency in the 80's. Some places had plenty of resources, others had to operate in a more modest environment.
The FBI has much more limitations than does a police dept. And, another big difference, are the "notification/authorization levels'.
In the federal service, anything of any significance requires authorization by higher authority. On a city police dept, most authorizations can be advanced by a Sgt.
If you have figured out what your featured player is investigating, I can better respond to areas that will be helpful.
Regards,
loren